16 children have died in hot cars in 2023. Heat waves have made it more dangerous.
If there's anything hotter than the record-breaking temperatures felt across much of the United States in recent weeks, it's the temperature inside a car parked outside in the sweltering heat. That's where some of the most devastating tragedies unfold when children are inadvertently left behind.
At least 16 children have died in hot cars so far in 2023, bringing to more than 1,000 the number who have died that way during the past three decades.
On Tuesday, a mother in Houston left her 3-month-old baby unattended outside a medical center she visited with her other child, age 4. When she returned to the car, she found him unresponsive, Houston police said. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
So far no charges have been filed in the case which remained under investigation on Wednesday.
In mid July, a Florida babysitter said she forgot a 10-month-old baby girl in a car when she went inside to watch other children. She said she realized the baby was still in the car when her mother came to pick her up several hours later.